A whale has washed up on Irvine beach with dog walkers urged to stay away.
Coastguard teams were called to the scene at around 10am on Monday morning after the mammal was found by dog walkers.
The Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme (SMASS) confirmed to Ayrshire Live that they believe the cetacean that has washed ashore is a minke whale.
A spokesperson for SMASS said: “We have been made aware that there is a minke whale, which was found dead stranded on Irvine beach this morning.
“We are liaising with the local council who are planning to relocate the carcass and we will do an examination of the animal there.
“As part of our examination we will aim to establish a cause of death, as well as take a range of samples which will tell us a lot about the ecology of the animal.
“This will include, for example, what it has been feeding on, and so will help us begin to understand how the animal, and others from its population, lived.”
Sacha Raeside of Milo’s Mutts Dog Walking posted on social media, urging dog walkers to keep away: “Massive whale beached at Irvine shore. Not far past the dragon. It smells awful and a lot of blood about so if your dogs are the kind to roll in dead stuff I would avoid it.”
There are a number of reasons that a cetacean may come ashore including injury, illness, bad weather and navigational error.
A spokesperson for HM Coastguard said: “ Ardrossan Coastguard Rescue Team has been sent to a report made at about 10am on 16 December of a whale washed up at Irvine beach.”
Strandings happen around 20 to 50 times a year across the UK and, in June, residents in South Ayrshire discovered a basking shark that had washed ashore at Maidens.
North Ayrshire Council and Police Scotland have been contacted for comment.
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